@lariatnews /lariat.saddleback /LariatNews @lariatnews VOLUME 45, ISSUE 7
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SADDLEBACK AND IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGES’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
LARIATNEWS.COM
O B A M A ROCKS THE VOTE 2012
ELECTION COVERAGE
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SEE PAGES PROPOSITIONS
Propositions soon to be put into effect after citizens tackled issues at the polls
Jemal, Jay, Lang win SOCCCD trustee seats The Nov. 6 South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees election names David B. Lang for Area 1, William O. Jay for Area 3, and ushered in first-time trustee Timothy Jemal as the new Area 7 member E va n Da Silva & K ris te n W ilcox
Staff Writers
Tim Jemal- Area 7: Masters in International Business from George Washington University. “I care deeply about education and our economic future. I will usher in a new era in shared governance with students, faculty, staff and the electorate. I will serve with integrity, honesty and transparency. I will make decisions based on the best interest of our community colleges, not on personal or partisan political interests. The community deserves nothing less” William O. Jay- Area 3: Masters of Education from University of Vermont. Served as Saddleback College President from 1981-1983. “Today our colleges must expand educational opportunities for young college students, adults, and seniors and increase high technology and skill training for the community and our employees.” David Lang- Area 1: Certified Public Accountant. Member of Irvine Chamber of Commerce. “I enjoy working to achieve a balance between current needs and preparing for the future needs of students See TRUSTEE page 4 and the community.”
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Illustration by Anibal Santos / LARIAT
YOUNG DEMOCRATS
Saddleback club supports Obama, Prop. 30
PRESIDENTIAL
Campus reacts to a second term for Barack Obama
Obama re-elected for second term Saddleback students and faculty react to the incumbent’s 303-206 electoral vote victory E r i k w ood s & j os e p h e s p i r i t u
Staff Writers
Barack Obama was re-elected as President of the United States Tuesday night, securing the victory with an electoral vote count of 303 to challenger Mitt Romney’s 206, prompting diverse reaction from Saddleback College faculty and students. “It was pretty much what I expected on the popular vote side, but it wasn’t what I expected as far as the electoral votes,” Lee Haggerty, a political science instructor said. “I figured the electoral votes would be closer than what they were. Obviously Obama’s strategy was to go for those states that had more electoral votes because he recognized that’s what determines whose president. And his team, I should say, evidently did a good job because Romney’s people did a really good job and it was very, very close if you look at the popular vote.” Despite the big young-voter turnout in the 2008 election, more voters between the ages of 18 to 29 voiced their opinions in this year’s presidential race – jumping to 19 percent, one more than the last presidential election. Age was not the only factor in the President’s win, but there was also a factor of
Flickr Commons: Kevin Gebhardt/ WCHI News
Obama talks to supporters on election rally night. race. The white vote also shrunk this election dropping from 43 percent in 2008 to 39 percent this year while the African-American vote stayed at a steady 13 percent similar to 2008 numbers according to CNN. History instructor, David Dileo, shared a few words about the election saying Obama is easier to read, understand and relate with compared to Romney. We have seen what he has done over the past four years, thus allowing him to be much clearer on where he stands, Deleo said, adding that Obama has faced a lot of pressure during his tenure as President from the very beginning during his inauguration to this election. As for Romney - he will
be harder to navigate, and I don’t know of anyone who can understand what he may or may not do. “He has a lot to prove and this time he has no fingers to point at. He inherited his own mess, Kevin Heartly, 23, political science said. “If he doesn’t uphold his promises this time I think he’ll be held more accountable.” As for a democratic president with a republican House, Haggerty said that both parties would have to reach a compromise to reach their goals. “What I’m hoping is that now we passed all of this and we recognize that it’s in our benefit to work closely together - both sides
See OBAMA page 4 LARIATNEWS.COM
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2012 ELECTION
Lariat
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
HIGH S
Voters roll dice with ta four more ye
California proposition scorecard Tax increase and criminal penalty reforms pass, death sentence and label-free foods stay
30 PASS
31 FAIL
Increase on income taxes on high incomes for seven years and sales tax increases a quarter-cent for four years. Revenues for schools and other programs.
Fiscal responsibilities for legislature and government will NOT change.
32 FAIL
33 FAIL
34 FAIL
NO change to existing laws regulating the ability of unions and corporations to use money deducted from employee’s paychecks for political purposes.
Insurers can continue to provide discounts to longterm auto customers, but will be prohibited from providing discounts for users switching.
Certain offenders convicted for murder can continue to be sentenced to death. Status of those currently under death sentence will NOT change.
35 PASS Longer prison sentences and larger fines for human trafficking crimes.
36 PASS Some criminal offenders with two prior serious or violent felony convictions would be sentenced to shorter terms in state prison.
37 FAIL Genetically engineered foods sold in California would continue to NOT have specific labeling requirements.
38 FAIL
39 PASS
40 PASS
State personal income tax rates will remain at current levels (before Prop 30 increases). No additional funding for K-12 schools from Prop 38 increase.
Multi-state businesses will no longer be able to chose the method for determining California state taxable income that is most advantageous for them.
California state Senate district boundaries certified by Citizens Redistricting Commission will continue to be used.
Co mp il e d by Z ac h C avan ag h , I n f or mat i on f r om C al i f or n i a O f f i c i a l Voter Informati on Gu i de.
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Campus reaction to passing of Prop 30 “I’m very excited, it was an important measure that California voters took to support schools.” - Tod A. Burnett, President, Saddleback College “I don’t necessarily think throwing money directly into the school is going to fix it. I feel that the education system needs reform to where its funding can be used most efficiently.” - Nick Cerneka, 20, communications “Thrilled very much so that it passed! I am not going to have to worry about tuition going up when I want to transfer to a university soon.” - Mason Berger, 18, business “It’s going to allow community colleges not to have to continue cutting classes. Also, it’s going to allow the Cal States and the UCs to be able to accept more students ... [I’m] very happy that the proposition passed and that California still feels that education is priority.” - Jorge Guerrero, counselor, Saddleback College
SPECIAL EDITION
Lariat
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
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STAKES
ax increase in California, ears of Obama
Jasmine Pourazar / Lariat Board: Support shown for Obama on a Saddleback corkboard.
IL Lu st r at io
n s b y A n ib a l Sa n to s / La r iat
Young Democrats support local candidates, Prop 30 Saddleback club supports candidates, Obama and measure that end up as Tuesday’s winners C at h y L e e tay lor
Staff Writer
ROBERT SHOEMAKE / Lariat BOOTH: Citizens fill out their ballots at the Dana Point Branch Library on Tuesday morning.
Campus reaction to President Obama’s re-election “I’m pretty happy Obama “I feel that Romney had more won. I didn’t really like of a promising plan for our Romney and his energy policies country and I ... And I didn’t like that he don’t feel safe with Obama as and the Republican Party had our President again.” such controversial opinions on - Taylor Brenner, 20, women’s reproductive rights.” psychology - Katie Whittemore, 21, environmental studies “I am very hopeful for the change that Obama has promised America . This was my “Obama has done little to first year voting and actually help our economy. We are being involved in politics . I done.” read all the prompts and was - Morgan Cross, 18, aware of who I was voting for business and what I was voting for. ” - Brittany Gibson, 22, major undecided
President Barack Obama wins a second term with 303 electoral votes over Romney at 206, and Kathryn Peña, President of the Saddleback Young Democrats Club, is relieved for college students everywhere. The Young Democrats Club supported Obama because he is a “strong advocate for education,” Peña said. Also, Obama supports “women in terms of equal pay and also for reproductive rights as well as the LGBT communities.” The Young Democrats also supported Irvine’s current mayor, Sukhee Kang, in the Mission Viejo race for Congress. Kang spoke at Saddleback College on Tuesday, Oct. 30 and they want him in office because ‘We need to take back democratic control of congress because of the lack of changes in the last two years [due to] Republican Party obstruction,” Peña added. “Sukhee Kang has a history of working with both parties to achieve results.” Kang lost his race for the U.S. representative for the 45th District to John Campbell by a 40.5 to 59.5 percent of the vote. The Young Democrats supported Prop 30 which stops $6 billion in budget cuts to education. Current state schools are significantly impacted and classes are being dropped because of budget cuts and “a student is lucky to transfer within two years,” Peña said. Prop 30 also increases income tax on people who earn over $250,000 per year for a period of seven years and includes a sales tax increase of one-quarter cent for four years. What concerned Peña about Romney becoming president is that he wanted to make “cuts to education and veterans benefits.” Also Romney’s plan to eliminate Planned Parenthood also didn’t sit well with the Young Democrats: “a lot of women and men depend on Planned Parenthood,” Peña said. Chugi Takahashi, student and Young Democrat Club member, said that Romney would be a bad idea right now because he doesn’t sound like someone who will deliver on his promises and that he intends to lower taxes on the rich and will “keep us getting deeper in debt … like in the George Bush times.” What students tend to agree on is that it is a bad time to change leadership and that we want the middle class to come back and have a better chance and, “Obama has a good plan for this,” said Takahashi. Saddleback student Adrian Hernandez, a Young Democrat’s Club member, is a veteran who served in Iraq and didn’t like what he saw there. He felt that
something “wasn’t right,” so he eventually left the military. One of the reasons he is voting for Obama is because, “he said he would end the war in Iraq and he did.” Hernandez isn’t interested in “funding useless wars,” and says that Obama’s “ideologies” coincide with his. Hernandez also likes the fact that Obama acknowledges climate change. “That’s a plus,” he said. Hernandez’s biggest concern about Romney getting elected was that there could be an “explosion of violence” because not enough programs are available to help people in need. He was also concerned about environmental issues such as more drilling and the fact that a lot of Republicans won’t even acknowledge that climate change exists. Like a lot of students, Hernandez’s biggest concern is education. “Not everybody wants a degree,” Hernandez said. Students want to take classes that are applicable to getting a job or learn a skill that will help them earn a living in the future. “We need to take a long, hard look at how we are teaching kids and what we are trying to accomplish,” Hernandez said. More people are becoming aware of the disparity in student’s education and the current demand for technical skills in the job market. Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft, never finished college but his foundation has made education a primary mission. Grants are now awarded to people who want to correct the current problems with higher education that keep kids from graduating on time. According to the foundation website, www.gatesfoundation.org, Gates stresses that teachers are critical to student achievement. As a result, the foundation invests in research and reform efforts to discover what makes a teacher more effective. In addition, they promote clear and consistent standards that help teachers identify student learning gaps. On a local Orange County level, Tim Jemal, a firsttime candidate in the race to become a member of the Board of Trustees in the South Orange County Community District (SOCCCD) states on his website that he supports “quality education for transfer, professional and vocational students.” He also supports the Emeritus Program for life-long learning. Contacted after his win on Tuesday, Jemal said, “I will focus on developing meaningful partnerships between our community colleges and the county’s most innovative technology firms. My goal is for our community colleges to stay ahead of industry trends and deliver training and education programs most needed to secure good-paying jobs in the local economy. We should strive to build long-term partnerships with key growth sectors of the Orange County economy, including technology and health care, which require some level of higher education ctaylor45@saddleback.edu
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NEWS
Lariat
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
SOCCCD board retains Lang, Jay, adds Jemal From TRUSTEES Page One
The Nov. 6 South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees election re-elected two incumbents, David B. Lang for Area One and William O. Jay for Area Three, and ushered in first-time trustee Timothy Jemal as the new Area Seven member who is filling the void left by Frank M. Meldau, who decided to step-down after taking over the position in Jan. of 2011. Area One saw incumbent Lang and Irvine business attorney David L. Martin running for office. Lang took the position in a landslide, finishing with 154,961 votes (68.6 percent), according to www.smartvoter.
org - landing himself a fifth consecutive term since 1996. Some of his key stances include the opposition of tax increases, the reduction of local bureaucracies, the increasing of job training, certificate, and transfer programs, and further supporting of the Emeritus program. “I will continue to be an advocate for students, a watchful guardian of our precious fiscal resources, and mindful of our colleges having the right mix of programs to adequately serve our students and community,” Lang said via email. Jay faced businesswoman Arlene C. Greer and graduate student researcher Jennifer J. Long in the Area Three trustee
election. Jay handily won the position with 118,647 votes (52.9 percent), according to www.smartvoter.org and will now be on his third consecutive term after filling a trustee vacancy in 2004, and being elected to serve through the year 2012. The Area Seven trustee election started off with John Williams running unopposed, which lead to Mike Moodian, Jan Serrantino-Cox, and Jemal joining the race. Jemal won the open trustee position allocating 70,764 votes (32.5 percent), as stated by www.smartvoter.org Jemal said his primary concerns involve improving college and career readiness, working with the Advanced Technology & Education Park in Tustin to
expand student technical career education and vocational skills, to have Saddleback and Irvine Valley Colleges move into the top five graduation rates among two-year colleges throughout California, and prevent the rise of any new tuition fees for students. “My central priority is to improve college and career readiness. If we don’t close the gap in college and career readiness, the U.S. is destined to mediocrity which is unacceptable to me... Our community colleges must communicate clearly with students the consequences in time and money of dropping out of college,” Jemal said via email.
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The Lariat is the student newspaper of Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College. The Lariat is an independent, First Amendment, studentrun public forum. One copy of the Lariat is free. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 at the Lariat newsroom, which is located in LRC 116. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 200 words or less and include a name, valid e-mail address and signature. All letters are subject to editing by the editorial board. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Lariat’s ediorial board and do not represent the views of Irvine Valley College or Saddleback College or the South Orange County Community College District. Lariatnews.com launched in fall 2007. Visit us on Facebook at “Lariat Saddleback” or follow us on Twitter, @lariatnews.
Faculty, students react to presidential race From OBAMA Page One
of the isle,” Haggerty said. “I’m just not sure if the Republicans are willing and ready to make that move so that we can forget about the last four years and find the president crossing over the aisle – working with the Republicans. Otherwise, it’s going to be business as usual and I don’t think we can afford that. If they don’t, we’ll have the same thing we’ve been having for the last four years and that is a president proposing certain programs and policies that never get implemented because they get through the senate where the democrats have majority, but they never get through the house because the Republican’s oppose it, and until the Republicans realize we’re all Americans, and even though we have our differences that we need to bring policies that are good for all of us.” Ultimately, Haggerty said
that he’s glad that the race is over. “This gives us the opportunity to really see this as a challenge or to see this as an opportunity to make the world better,” Haggerty said. “I’m hoping we see it more as the latter than the former. To me, what’s really going to determine this is does Boehner and his boys in the house take a position to be an obstructionist or do they make certain compromises in order to make the country a better country.”Students were asked whether or not they voted, and if they did vote, for whom did they vote. Forty different students on Tuesday afternoon were asked who they voted for and while not everyone was willing to answer, most were inclined to do so.For Obama, 27 total votes, 15 were male, and 13 were female. For Romney a total of 13 votes, nine were male and five were female.
Robert Shomake / Lariat
VOLUNTEER: Poll workers John Stanton and Beverly Ayala work the
booths during Tuesday’s election.
“I don’t think it matters who you put into the White House, I think there’s going to be polarization either way,” Alec Scheizenmeier,
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